Projectile



Apr. 3, 1923. l

C. CHILOWSKY PRo'JEcTlLE 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed July ll, 1919` .ff@ 0.. i f

Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

UNIT STATES CONSTANTIN CHILOWSKY, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

PROJ ECTILE.

Application med July y1i,

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CoNs'rAN'rIN CnrLowl SKY, a citizen of Russia, residing at Paris, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Projectiles, of which the following'is a specification.

It is known that projectiles immediately after they have left the gun pass through a period which `is critical for their stability 'and Athe necessity for taking account of this' period has hitherto prevented use of certain types of projectiles, particularly long projectiles in which the instability on leaving the gun is more marked.

This invention relates to a method of rendering projectiles stable, the method taking effect during the critical period which is of very short duration, and ensuring by this brief action, extending over a fraction of the initial travel of the projectile, complete stability so that projectiles may be fired which would be unstableunder ordinary conditions.

For this purpose the invention provides for heatingthe air in front of the projectile by producing in this region a flame which is very-i intense but of short duration and is directed either transversely to the axis of the projectile or in the direction of this and forwards. The duration of the action of this flame is limited to the fraction of time necessary for providing stability. It modilies favourably the action of the air on the projectile and rapidly produces stability in the latter.

'This stabilizing effect may be combined with the process described in my United States application Serial No. 259556 filed 24th October 1918, patented April 26, 1921, by Patent No. 1,376,316, Japanese Letters` Patent No. 43155 dated 27th December 1918 and British Letters Patent No. 132,068 dated 19th September 1918, which process is foi` the purpose of diminishing the resistance of the projectile to forward movement. For the purpose ofthe combination it suflices that the powder or combustible provided in the front of the proj-ectile is composed of two different elements, the first designed to produce at the moment of firing a very intense jet of fiame of short duration, and the second designed to burn during a notable portion ofA the trajectory and creating a sheath of fiame or hot gases around the projectile.

In the accompanying drawingsthere is movement.

1919. Serial No. 310,181.

shown a projectile to which the invention is applied.

Fig. 1 shows in axial section a shell havlng a chamber of small capacity charged with explosive or combustible and havlng a nozzle comprising lateral perforations or channels for the exhaust of the combustion gases at the front thereof.

Fig. 2 shows in axial section a modification, the shell having a chamber of large capacity charged with a liquid or gaseous combustible. l n

Fig. 3 is an axial section through a. second modification in which the orifice or duct for the. escape of the combustion gases is in the axis of the projectile and directed forward.

Fig. 4 is an axial section through a. modification of the shell shown in Fig. 3 in which the chamber contains a combustible consisting of two elements, one for producing an initial stability of the shell and the other for diminishing the resistance to its forward In Fig. 1, the chamber is of small capacity and charged with a combustible in powder or other form adapted to emit flame or heat, the chamber being closed` by a stopper having a no zzle.

The body of the shell a contains the explo,- sive charge b and is closedat its upper part by the cover c having the ordinary fuse d. The chamber e is screwed into the cover c and is closed at its upper part by a piece f, in which are channels g for escape of combustible and a cavity h. containing the ignition device.

This device lires the contents of the chamber when the projectile is fired from the gun, for instance by a hammer, which is movable rearwardly, and on so moving by its inertia on the beginning of thev forward movement of the projectile its point strikes a cap producing a. flame that enters the chamber.

The gases escape through channels g into the axial tube c and pass out by way of the y distributing orifices min the stopper Z, which closes the tube. The arrows in the drawing indicate the direction which the gases take, being forced backwards by the rapid current of air produced by the travel of the shell.

In this manner there is produced either a lively combustion in front of the projectile due to the oxidation of the incandescent combustible products escaping from the chamber e or a heating of the air by the products of the combustion of the explosive rendered spontaneously inflammable Madere in chamber e,` 0r generally both these phenomena.

In any case the current of air encountered by the shell is heated and acquires properties which are known to be suitable for produc-l ing stability as has been indicated above.

This stabilizing eifect may be realized during the short period of combustion required by different means7 the most suitable of which will be selected according to the case.

For example, the chamber e may be of very small capacity and there may be used an explosive adapted to disengage a large quantity of heat in front of the projectile.

rlhe most suitable explosives in this case are such as produce incompletely burnt gases or vapours and contain among their products a large proportion of matter which burns at a hi h temperature. This incandescent combustlble matter as it issues in front of the projectile is burnt by the atmospheric oxygen. The products may contain, for instance, vapours of volatile metals such as zinc, magnesium or aluminium, or pyrophoric vapours, such as phosphorus vapour. An example of a suitable material which is very rapid in action is a mixture compressed to about 1000 kilos per square centimeter, containing approximately 6 parts of precipitated copper oxide', 9 parts of red phosphorus and about l part of sulphur.

Instead of a powder the chamber may con-l tain pyrophoric gases, such as phosphuretted hydrogen in liquid state and lssuing at the moment of firing through the opened orifices as a result of the inertia of the projectile.

If the space at disposal is suiciently large there may be used in view of the short duration of the combustion to be realized, ordinary powders such as compressed gun-powder, or gases merely compressed instead of being liquefied. These means may be applied for instance inthe case of long projectiles of very large capacity in which the front part should be well developed for obtaining a rofile of small resistance in its travel.

`ig. 2 shows sucha projectile.

It comprises a pointed head e much elongated and charged with a pyrophoric compressed gas; such as phosphoretted hydrogn IY traces of the liquid compound or by peroxide of nitrogen,- or any other suitable gaseous mixture may be used. l

The escape opening or openingsA may be closed by a metallic stopper@ held in position for example by a sheet of tin p soldered in the neck of the head; this sheet is so thin as to be perforated by the inertia of the stopper at the moment of lfiring. The orifices of the stopper Zmay be distributed over the whole of its surface, or there may be a single orifice 0 at the point ofthe stopper; the combustible becomes distributed in front of the projectile. f

I have found that the stability of the pro j ectile is improved if the flame or products of combustion issue solely in the axial direction in front of the projectile. rlhis arrangement allows of a stronger stopper as a cap for thc head of the projectile because transverse channels such as min Fig. l are not required.

Fig. 3. shows a. shell in which the issue of the flame is solely axial. As in F ig. l the powder or combustible is accommodated in chamber e screwed on to the co-ver c and closed at its front part by a stopper f in which is a single channel m through which the gases ory iiame issue in the direction of the arrows. Instead of the single channel there may be a series slightly divergent but.

tion escape should be sufficiently small 'to ensure a. velocity ofthe gases such that there will be no risk of. their being immediately forced black by the air encountered. The adjustment of this escaping pressure may be made by suitable selection of the diameter of the channel m, of the rapidity of the explosive and of the dimensions of the chamber e which contains the latter.

The ignition device comp-rising two or more hammers It is arranged beside the channel m so as not to hinder the issue of: the flame.

Obviously the channel may be extended by a nozzleof the kind represented in Fig.`

Li so as to bring further in advance of the projectile the exit orifice of the flame or gases of combustion.

The-elimination of the transverse perforations for the escape of flame and the substitution for them of an axial passage besides increasing the simplicity and the strength of the device, affords the advantage that it is possible to use a powder having a very high l temperature of combustion. Moreover, it is important to use a smokeless powder and consequently one whichA does not contain phosphorus; an exampley of a suitable powder'is one compressed at 1000 kilos pe sq. cm'. and containing-1 Magnesium 70 per cent.

lll

A modification of the phosphorus powder indicated above is as follows Red phosphorus, dried and neutral 55 per cent, Precipitated copper oxide (chestnut colour) 38 per cent, SulphurD I have found that the burst of flame produced on the firing of the projectile (more particularly when this burst of -{ia-me is axial) not only improves the stability of the projectile at the start of its trajectory, but

increases the precision of ring.

It is evident that the method of producing stability may be applied to ordinary shells. It suflices for this purpose to fit them at the forward end, by any suitablemeans, with a. supp-lementary part comprising a chamber e and a stopper f.

This method of producing stability applied to projectiles longer than `ordinary projectiles and of more pointed external form presenting slightly smaller resistance to forward travel-but under ordinary conditions unstable, permits the increase of the 4destructive force, the precision and the range, as compared with known types of shell.

The method may, however, be applied to ordinary stable projectiles when fired from guns that are already worn, and lose, owing to this, some of their stability. The duration of the jet of iame is variable according to the calibreand type of the projectile; it may be comprised between a small fraction of a second and about one second.

The jet of flame which is .intended to render the projectile stable in its trajectory at the moment of firing may be combined with a continuous disengagement of flame or hot gas during a notable portion of the trajectory, the object being to diminish the resistance to the travel of the projectile; this continuous projection of flame or hot gases may be in the manner described in my French patent of addition No. 11352 of the 27th November 1918 and the aforesaid Letters Patent. Such a combination is shown in Fig. 4 where the combustion chamber e ischarged with a layer of rapidly burning powder z' of the kind already indicated and with a layer of slow burnlngpowder j of the kind described in the aforesaid patents. rlhe rapid powder z' ignites instantaneously when the gun is fired and produces the stabilizing jet of ame. The vslow powder then ignites and burns with disengagement of as which issues through the channel m lor the transverse channels m of Fig. 1) to a considerable part of the trajectory.

rlhis combination aEords a very important advantage for the improvement in the stability of the projectile allows the use of very 7 per cent..

long projectiles and these can cont-ain combustion chambers e of considerable volume.

The quantity of rapid powder necessary for producing stability of the projectile and at the same time diminishing the dispersion, is small; for example, for a shell which is 7 5 millimeters long a volume of 10-20 cubic centimeters is sufficient for the stabilizing eilect provided that it burns for only a `fraction of a second.

jectiles consisting 1n momentarily projecting hot gases in advance of the projectile at the instant of its emergence from the muzzle of the gun, whereby to momentarily heat the air directly in front of the projectile and thereby eliminate disturbance at the critical period of its trajectory.

2. A projectile having means for stabilizing its Hight by initially heating the air in advance of the projectile, comprising a receptacle for combustible, means for igniting such combustible upon the discharge of the projectile, and means, including a restricted duct fromf said receptacle to the nose of the projectile, for directing the burning gases therefrom forward of the advancing projectile, combined with a combustible in said receptacle adapted on ignition to burn with such rapidity as to provide a burst of ame at the critical instant following the discharge of the projectile from the gun.

3. A projectile according to claim 2, its

receptacle for combustible comprisin a chambered head open at its forward en 4. A projectile according to claim 2, its means for directing the burning gases forward of the advancing projectile comprising a stopper having a restricted longitudinal bore.

5. A projectile according to claim 2, its means for directing the burning gases forward of the advancing projectile comprising a tubular extension prolonged in advance of the nose of the projectile, and having a restricted bore.

6. A projectile according to claim 2, its Y means for directing the burning gases forward of the advancing projectile comprising a stopper having a restricted longitudinal bore, and communicating transverse bores near its head.

7. A. projectile according to claim 2, its chambered head and its directing means means for directing the burning gases orcomprising a stopper having a restricted l@ Werd of the advancing projectile comprislongitudinal bore, said head and stopper being a stopper having e restricted longitun ing independentiy removable.

5 dinal bore$ and means for temporarily clos- In Witness whereof, l have hereunto ing said bore. signed my neme.

8. A projectile according to claim 2, its receptacle for combustible comprising e CUNSTANTKN CHLOWSKY. 

